Heretofore the use of pulse oximeter probes has been limited to the use of a costly, reusable probe, which is contaminated by use on a patient, or cheaper, single-use probes, which, in the aggregate, amount to a considerable expenditure for a healthcare institution. The current applicant in his U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,868, and subsequent continuations-in-part, has described a reusable pulse oximeter probe to be used with a disposable bandage apparatus. With this device, the costly reusable portion of the probe is isolated from the patient by means of an inexpensive bandage apparatus. This allows the caregiver to dispose of the inexpensive bandage apparatus while retaining the more costly, reusable portion of the probe. The reusable probe can then be used in conjunction with another disposable bandage apparatus on another patient.
Despite the cost and safety advantages of the reusable probe and disposable bandage apparatus over disposable probes, an increasing number of institutions are beginning to utilize reusable finger clip probes because of the cost savings associated with a completely reusable product. Despite the discomfort of these devices and the risk of spreading infection from patient to patient, the trend toward reusable probes continues to strengthen.
However, in all institutions there is always the need for some disposable probes. Patients who have compromised immune systems, surgical patients, where sterility is important, and neonatal and pediatric patients, where the size of the appendage to be monitored is too small for finger clips, require the use of disposable probes or a disposable bandage apparatus.
Clearly, it would be advantageous to offer a universal, modular, reusable probe that could be used in conjunction with either a reusable finger attachment device or a disposable bandage apparatus, each having receptacles into which the reusable probe could be lockingly engaged and disengaged. In addition, probes from all the different oximeter manufacturers could be standardized so that they could be used in conjunction with these same patient attachment devices.
The present invention is directed to a system and a method of standardization of a pulse oximeter probe wherein the probe comprises at least one light emitting diode and at least one photocell detector wherein said emitter and detector are incorporated into modular plastic housings, at least one housing having an aperture or radiation transparent window aligned with said emitter, and at least said second housing having an aperture or radiation transparent window aligned with said detector; wherein said housings can lockingly engage and disengage receptacles mounted on at least either:
(a) a reusable finger attachment device, or
(b) a disposable bandage apparatus,
and transmit and receive light through the appendage of a patient when either of the above devices are attached to a patient and when the housings of said probe are matedly engaged with the receptacles of the attached device.
The receptacles of the disposable bandage apparatus or the reusable finger attachment device may have locking levers for lockingly engaging and disengaging the modular probe housings.
The probe housings may have indentations or detentes for lockingly engaging and disengaging the levers of the receptacles of the disposable bandage apparatus or reusable finger attachment device.
The disposable bandage apparatus may have radiation transparent windows for the isolation of the probe housings from the patient.
The probe housings may be standardized in size so that probes to fit at least one of a multiplicity of manufacturers"" oximeters will incorporate housings that can be matedly engaged with either a reusable finger attachment device or a disposable bandage apparatus.
What is disclosed is the method of supplying pulse oximeter probes compatible with at least one of a multiplicity of manufacturers"" oximeters, said probe or probes incorporating standardized probe housings, which can be matedly engaged with at least either a reusable finger attachment device or a disposable bandage apparatus.